A Step Further
by CupcakeSprinkles14
Summary: For DanDan76: Curious and gorgoreus Peeta, a werewolf with a adventurous streak, decides to test the limits and go into the one territory werewolves are forbidden, the humans land, where he captures the eye of mortal high school senior Cato, who is eager to show the young wolf his world. As their love for one other blossoms so does their worries of being caught.


**A Step Further**

**For DanDan76**

Peeta stared at the boundery line. It wasn't marked by anything eye-catching or luminous, just a large Oak tree. The leader of the 12 pack, Mr Undersee, always said to never cross the boundery line. Cross the boundery line and you risk exposure to the mortals. And exposure to the mortals could risk the security of the entire pack. Exposing the pack is a severe crime, punishable by death or banishment.

But the pull was irresitable. Out there was unexplored territory. No wolf had ever ran there before. The thought of being the first excited Peeta. He had spent weeks staring at the boundery line oak tree, daring himself to even put a paw over the line. Now he was going to do it, today was the day he was going to explore it all. What was the harm? Mr Undersee would never find out. Peeta knew that all he had to do was come back before the pack came looking for him and no one would ever know.

Morphing into a wolf was always a relaxing exchange. It's like when you spend a whole day in uncomfortable clothing and finally get to shed it all. Peeta, despite the fact he was the runt of his litter, basked in being in his canine form. He was much faster as a wolf and loved the feeling of the wind in his fur. He leaped over logs, dodged branches, his eyes taking in every inch of the undiscovered world around him.

Maybe it was because he knew it was unexplored, or maybe it was because his senses were heightened to a hundred so he could take in everything around him, but the grass and sky and flowers were so bright they were almost glowing. Peeta didn't want to miss a thing. Everything was so refreshing and gorgeous, the scenery absolutely breathtaking.

That is, until he found the fence.

Peeta came to a halt in front of the gate. It was ten times the size of an adult wolf, so large that Peeta could imagine it reaching the stars. Did the mortals know about them? Did they put up these fences to keep them out? No, that couldn't be true. Mr Undersee said that this forest was uncharted, the mortals didn't know about them, how could they know to put up fences? Peeta curiously sniffed the wires. Ew, it reeked of human.

An alarm of some sort suddenly exploded in the air. Peeta stumbled backwards in shock, his ears flattening against his head to ward off the sound. Did the mortals know he was there? Were they alerting everyone of his presence?

Hundreds of humans started streaming out of this big building, most heading for the similar gate on the other side. Peeta moved forward, poking his nose through the space between the wires. Yeah, that was definitely the smell of mortal. He pulled back and cocked his head, what were those people doing anyway?

A blond guy came out of the building, carrying once of those weird shoulder bags. Peeta wondered what they mortals kept in those. Food? Clothing? Spare parts? Why carry bags when all you need is the clothes on your back? Peeta's eyes followed the guy as he walked, unable to understand how he could be comfortable walking on only two legs. Peeta constantly felt uneasy when he was in human form and, because of this, a part of him sort of admired the mortals.

The blond guy he was watching suddenly turned. Peeta shrank back when the man's eyes landed on him, the iris' immediately narrowing in curiosity. Peeta hoped for a moment that the human wasn't looking at him but knew it was a silly hope. The guy's eyes were _right on him._ And when the human started walking towards him, Peeta's heart stopped.

Oh god, he had to get out of here.

Peeta scrambled backwards and ran back in the direction he came. He could hear footsteps behind him. Did the mortal climb that massive fence?! Peeta tried to run as fast as he could, to the point where his limbs were screaming and felt like they were about to burst. But the footsteps following him never falted or faded out. Snapping branches, rustling leaves, crunching acorns. All of it, coming after him.

Damn it, damn it, damn it, why did he have to break the rules?

Peeta was so busy panicking that he didn't realize that he was about to run straight into a tree. When he hit the trunk, an explosion of pain rocked his body. He had never been so careless before and he was completely unprepared for the agony that came with running headfirst into a tree. A pathetic cry escaped his mouth as he fell, hitting the earth with a heavy thud.

He was so stunned he completely forgot what he was running for. He just lay there in shock, trying to recollect his thoughts. His ears twitched, picking up every sound around him. Including the footsteps that were getting closer . . . Peeta was in too much pain to move but the panic continued internally. Was the mortal going to hurt him? Was he going to take him away for experiments like all the horror stories say?

The human boy appeared, looming over him intimidatingly. "Whoa," he breathed. He leaned down and stroked Peeta's head. "Hello little guy." He knelt down beside him and scratched behind his ears. Peeta purred, relief washing over him that the mortal wasn't going to hurt him. "I always see you wandering around the forest, are you lost?"

Peeta snorted. Lost. What a hilarious thought.

The human retracted his hand in surprise. "Did you just snort at me?" he asked.

_You're damn right I did._ Despite his body's protests, Peeta sat up. The human was actually very attractive. Strong, gorgeous eyes, cute smile. Too bad he had mortal blood running through his veins. Peeta's whiskers tingled as a breeze brushed by, his fur bristling and unsettling. The tingle of the wind on his whiskers made him sneeze.

Human boy smiled and rubbed his head again. Peeta nestled his head into his hand, loving the feeling of being petted. "You've got no collar, boy," he said. "If the dog catchers find you you'll be taken away." Taken away? Peeta stiffened at the boy's words. The mortal must have seen the panic in his eyes because he frowned. "You're very animated for an animal, you know that?"

Peeta almost laughed.

"I better take you home, maybe put up some lost posters." The human tried to pick Peeta up and carry him. This reminded Peeta of the situation he was currently in. He squirmed and struggled but he was only a tiny wolf up against a strong human.

When a wolf was in distress, the survival instinct would settle in and it would morph into human form. For the purpose of getting out of the threatening situation and running away. Peeta's own panic reached the point of shift and he unwillingly turned back into his unsettling human form. Not that it helped much. The boy was still much stronger than him.

The human stared at Peeta in shock, still somehow able to keep him gripped in his arms even though one second he was holding a wolf, the next a human. Peeta felt extremely exposed. He had never understood the use of clothes but felt very vulnerable in the mortal's hold. The human held onto him very tight, so much so that their bodies were pressed together. Peeta couldn't help noticing how hard the mortal's torso was against his own slightly softer body.

"You're a . . . human?" The human boy asked in astonishment.

"No," Peeta answered defensively. "I'm a wolf."

"A werewolf?"

Peeta shrugged sheepishly. The human wouldn't stop staring at him, his eyes moving over every inch of his face. "Maybe," he muttered, trying to pretend he didn't know that the guy was staring at him. "What's your name?"

"Cato. You?"

"Peeta." Cato seemed fascinated with him. Peeta couldn't understand. He was relatively boring and was nothing to get excited about. Runts never were interesting. "You're not going to hurt me, are you?"

Cato looked surprised. "Why would I hurt you?" he asked.

"Because you're a mortal." Peeta didn't elaborate, knowing this was answer enough. Surely Cato knew about what his kind do to werewolves? By the looks of his expression, however, he didn't. Peeta frowned in confusion. "You experiment on us. Because we're different . . ."

"Werewolves are nothing but the works of fiction," Cato explained. "Mortals . . . we don't . . . we don't even know you exist." For some reason, Peeta knew Cato was being honest. Why was he so quick to believe this boy he barely knew over the leader of his pack? It was just . . . Cato sounded so genuine. And Peeta wasn't an expert but not all mortals were good liars.

Cato suddenly pulled away a little, Peeta still caged in his arms. He looked down between them, a blush suddenly staining his cheeks.

"You're naked," he said.

"So?" Peeta immediately answered.

"It's just . . . you're very . . . _wow_." Cato, eyes still on Peeta's body, said, "What do you know exactly about the mortal world, anyway?Because so far it sounds like a pretty mixed up impression." Peeta didn't understand why Cato was looking at his body the way he was. Had he never seen a mortal body before? Surely the humans see them all the time.

"No, I don't know a lot about your world. I know what your kind do to mine and I don't want to be a part of it," Peeta replied. "Will you let me go back to my pack now?"

Cato looked at him shining green eyes. "Let me show you my world. Let me show you there's nothing to be weary of. If you stayed like this, no one would know any different. In fact, I'm sure a lot of people would love to date a guy as handsome as you."

Peeta cocked his head. "What's date?" he asked.

"Oh my god, you are too cute," Cato said. "How much do you actually know?"

"I know how to hunt . . . I know pack rules, regulations, laws . . ." Peeta trailed off, confused. "I don't know much else."

Cato finally released him, standing up. Peeta thought that when Cato finally let go of him he would want to run away but now he was extremely curious as to what went on beyond that fence. "You coming?"

Peeta scrambled to his feet, nodding eagerly. "Yeah," he said. "I'm coming." Despite the fact it broke all the rules, the pull into the mortal world was too strong. Cato's eyes were weird. They moved constantly. Peeta could understand the wish to take in everything surrounding him but Cato kept looking back at him. There was nothing particularly compelling about him. They were currently standing in an enchanting forest and all this mortal could look at was him?

"Uh, we're going to have to find you some clothes," said Cato.

"Why?" Peeta asked. He looked down at himself, at his body. "Does nudity make humans uncomfortable?"

"Some humans, we don't know which ones," Cato explained. "I mean . . ." His eyes did that moving thing again, as if unable to help themselves. "I don't have a problem with it but others might."

"Oh. Okay." Peeta didn't understand why nudity would be a problem but if were the mortal's ways then they were the mortal's ways.

Cato jerked his head. "Follow me, there's a short cut to my house though a back alley that cuts through the forest." He coughed and tore his eyes away. When he started walking, Peeta shifted back into a wolf and followed. Cato looked down at him and chuckled. "You're very small, for a werewolf."

_Don't patronize me, jerk_. Peeta growled, moving a little bit further ahead than Cato and listening to the directions he gave them when he gave them. After a while, Cato caught up and scooped Peeta didn't into his arms, laughing when the tiny wolf squirmed in protests.

"Calm down, puppy, I'm not going to hurt you," said Cato. Peeta scowled and bit down on Cato's hand. "Ow!" Somehow he still managed to keep him in his arms, despite his struggling and assualt on his hand. "This will get us there faster."

_Not if you let me run!_

Cato's house was strange. It wasn't a tent, it was made of bricks and concrete. Peeta jumped out of Cato's arms and shifted back into human form. He went up to the house and poked it curiously. Whoa, it was solid. Peeta sniffed the air. "Did you cook cow?" he asked.

Cato laughed. "I did three days ago," he said.

"Ah."

When they entered the house, Peeta couldn't help being amazed. It had so many furnishings, it was so intriguing. Cato gestured into a room to the right. "Go on in, make yourself at home."

Peeta entered the room with a frown. The grass was kind of strange in here. It was all soft and fluffy. There were quite a few weird structures sitting around. Peeta sat on the floor, looking around in awe. Everything was so captivating and different. It didn't have the allure of the forest but everything was so curious, nothing like where the 12 pack resided.

Cato came into the room, holding some clothes in his hand. "These might fit, they're from when I was younger so hopefully they'll do oka-Why are you on the floor?"

"I'm sitting," Peeta answered.

"On the floor?"

"Yeah, and?"

"You know the sofa is right there." Cato pointed at one of the structures. Peeta glanced over his shoulder in confusion. He remembered the other members of the pack talking of sofas and chairs but he had never seen one before. He crawled onto the sofa to try it out. It was sort of comfortable but the cushiony fabric felt weird against his skin. Peeta pulled a face. "You okay?"

"I don't really like it," Peeta said. Cato laughed and passed him the clothes. Peeta looked at the shirt and shorts with a frown. "I've never worn clothes before."

"Do you need help?" asked Cato.

Peeta shook his head stubbornly. After several attempts, including a feeble trial at pushing his head through the sleeve of the t-shirt and putting the jeans on backwards, Peeta finally managed to get himself dressed. He immediately took a disliking to it. "Is it always this . . ."

"Modest?"

"I was going to say restricting."

Cato laughed. "Well, that is a way of putting it." He sat down on the chair opposite the sofa and grinned. "So, what would you like to know about the mortal world? Hit me with any question that comes into your head."

Peeta thought about it. "Is it true you hunt and eat other?"

"Uh . . . no, that is not true."

"What about that your babies are baptised in the blood of the family's victims?"

"Definitely not."

"Do you really keep dogs as pets?"

Cato was relieved for the relatively normal question. "Yes," he said.

Peeta frowned. He pushed himself back into the sofa cushions, curling his knees up to his chest defensively. "You don't want me as a pet, do you?" he asked.

Cato's eyes widened in horror. "Oh god, no!" he exclaimed. "I don't want you as a pet. Not that you wouldn't make a good pet, not to objectify you or your people in any way just . . . I brought you here because I . . . I like you."

"Like," Peeta said slowly, rolling the word around in his mouth. "Like. You like me. Why is that? I don't know you."

The mortal boy shrugged. "I have always been attracted to beautiful things," he said.

The hair on the back of Peeta's neck bristled. He itched to at least half shift, having been in his human body for too long. "That doesn't answer my question," he said. "I'm a wolf, you're a human. Even if you did like me, or wish to mate me in the future, it would never work."

"Mate you?" Cato sounded shocked at the statement.

Peeta nodded. "Yes. Mate. Or is that not how the mortals reproduce? In my pack, cubs are produced through the act of mating where a wolf chooses a special partner and mounts them to-"

"Yes, that's how mortals reproduce," Cato quickly interuppted. "How could I mate you anyhow? Not that I want to but we're both guys, cubs would be off the table anyway."

"I'm an Omega so impregnation is not out of the question." Peeta felt like he was explaining basics to a pre-school child. Was that what it felt like for Cato when he explained the purpose of the sofa? He realized he was still curled up in the corner of the sofa and let himself relax a little. Cato wasn't going to hurt him. "Look, can I half shift? I'm extremely uncomfortable."

"What's half shifting?"

Peeta closed his eyes and half shifted, letting out a long sigh as if he had been holding his breath for ages. His ears changed into that of his wolf form's and his tail grew out, a white bush against the red fabric of the sofa. "That's half shifting."

Cato moved across the room and sat beside Peeta on the sofa. He reached out and touched Peeta's soft white ears with his fingertips, retracting them when the hearing aids twitched. "Wow," he said in awe. "You're beautiful." He grazed his knuckles down the silky fur gently, smiling when Peeta closed his eyes and leaned closer. "So, do you have a boyfriend? Back in your pack?"

"No," Peeta answered. "No one wants to mate a runt like me."

"Then they're idiots," Cato concluded.

"You really think so?"

"I know so."

Cato took Peeta outside and showed him the sights. So he was a bit more comfortable, he gave the young wolf a beanie hat to cover his ears but the tail had to go again. Even though he looked as human as they come, if you knew what you were looking for, you'd be able to clearly see that Peeta was a werewolf. He explored everything, from the cracks in the pavement to the flora growing out of those cracks.

It was all so new. So strange, so different. And not different in a bad way. In an amazingly brilliant way.

Peeta grew to learn that the mortal world wasn't a threat. Cato introduced him to some friends from his schooling environment and they were all so nice. Peeta knew that it may have been because they didn't know what he was but Cato was right, the 12 pack had nothing to worry about. The mortals were so naive they couldn't see past Peeta's human form.

The human environment was so fun, Peeta didn't want to leave. He decided that if he stayed for a couple of days, the pack would just think he was off on his own hunt. He had done it before, going off into the forest and not returning for a few days. If they ever found out that he was hanging around with mortals, they would banish him or, even worse, kill him.

Cato let him sleep in his bedroom. Peeta didn't need a bed, despite what Cato insisted, and rested on the floor in his wolf form, curled up at the bottom of Cato's own bed. He was surprisingly comfortable in Cato's bedroom, he even dared to think that was even more comfortable than the forest.

Mortal parents were quite laid back. Cato's parents didn't quesiton that their son had a new friend who he wanted to stay over for a while, in fact they were quite hospitable to Peeta.

He didn't want to leave.

Days passed and the more Peeta stayed with Cato, the more he forgot about the forest. The building Peeta had seen all the mortals come out of on his first day was the school that was high for some reason and everyone was being let out for summer. Everything in the mortal world was just so fascinating. Peeta wanted to discover everything, know everything. Human customs and traditions were so interesting. Like they ate their food with these silver utensils but their were specific foods you had to eat with your hands. Or that there was a whole plumbing system that took care of waste. Or that some materials were re-useable and could be used again and again.

The more time he spent with Cato, the more attached to him Peeta grew. Cato was funny, caring and, okay, extremely attractive. Peeta stuck to him like a magnet, his affection for the man only growing with each day.

That is, until Madge showed up.

Madge was the messenger of the 12 pack. If told to, she was the only wolf allowed to pass the oak tree boundery line. Peeta had been in the park with Cato, sitting on the hill while Clove and Marvel kicked a ball about below, when he saw her coming. Madge approached them, flinching every time Clove shouted at Marvel or everytime a foot connected with the ball.

"Madge? Why are you here?" Peeta asked.

Madge scowled. "I could ask you the same damn question!" she snapped. "What the hell are you thinking?!"

Peeta glanced at Cato, who looked concerned. "Is everything alright Peeta?"

"Yeah," Peeta answered. "Two seconds." He grabbed Madge's arm and walked to the side of the hill out of earshot.

"Mr Undersee is pissed off! Peeta, what the fuck?!" Madge hissed. "You've been gone for a whole week!"

Peeta hadn't realized it had been that long. His eyes fell to the grass in shame. God, no wonder Mr Undersee was mad. "Am I in trouble?" he asked feebly.

"Damn right you are!" Madge snapped. She tapped his chin to force him to look at her. "But Mr Undersee has always been soft on you, Peeta. So you have a choice. Abeit I don't think it's a fair choice but since you're a mortal lover you might not feel the same way."

"What's the choice?" Peeta frowned.

"Stay here for the rest of your days," Madge said. "And if you come back to the forest of 12, you will be executed."

Peeta stared at her. "I can't ever come back?"

Madge shook her head. "No, you can't."

"But my family's there."

"You should have thought of that before you started going around with the humans," Madge replied. She scowled and flipped her hair out of the way. "Have a nice life, Peeta."

Peeta grabbed her wrist before she could walk away. "You can't leave me," he said. "What about my family?"

Madge sighed heavily and looked at him in disgust. "Your family don't want you back," she said harshly. "They don't want a human lover in their group. Everyone thinks it's good riddance to bad rubbish. All you've ever done is cause trouble with your stupid adventures anyway." She yanked her wrist out of his hand. "And if you try to purposely expose us, we will come and find you again, next time we won't be as leanent."

Peeta watched her leave with wide eyes. They weren't letting him return to the pack. He had to stay there forever. He was never going to see his family again . . .

Cato immediately knew there was something wrong when Peeta came back. "What is it?" he immediately couldn't answer. He just sat down beside him and put his head into his lap. It didn't take long for the tears to come and once it started, it was difficult to stop.

Cato took him back to his house and they sat beside each other on his bed. Peeta's crying had died down into the occasional sniffle and drip of a tear. "They don't want me to come back," he whispered brokenly.

"Oh Peeta, I'm sorry," Cato said. "I should have known."

"How could you have known? It's my fault," Peeta mumbled. He wiped his eyes with the back of his hand and tried his best not to whimper. "I'm not going to see my family again. Just because I spent a week here with you."

"It's my fault," said Cato. "I was the one who dragged you here. I should have known to leave you alone."

"I chose to come here. If I didn't want to go I wouldn't have let you take me," Peeta muttered. "Trust me, that bite wasn't even half of what I'm really capable of."

"Around here isn't that bad . . . you can stay here as long as you need and you can enroll into high school next year, do senior year with me. Unless you need to start from the beginning . . . do you?"

"I don't know, my schooling is probably different to yours." Peeta still felt a little glum that he wasn't going to be able to go back to the forest but it wasn't like he was completely alone. As long as he had Cato by his side, things were going to be alright. It wasn't the end of the world. Plus, he had always known that banishment could be a consquence. Well, here he was, banished.

"I know it seems bad now but I promise it will be okay." Cato took Peeta's face into his hands and forced him to look at him. "I promise, it''s going to be fine."

Peeta felt a stirring in the pit of his stomach and he leaned forward, impulsively kissing Cato. He immediately second guessed it and drew back, only stopped by Cato holding onto him tighter. Their eyes met for a brief moment before Cato reconnected their lips.

Kissing was great. Peeta had never done it before but he definitely didn't want to stop. The longer they sat there and the shorter their breaths got, the hotter the kisses got until there was barely any break and they were basically sharing each other's breaths.

When Cato started kissing Peeta's neck, the young wolf couldn't help himself and slipped his hands underneath the older boy's t-shirt, pulling it up. Cato stopped kissing him for moment to throw it over his head before returning to his ministrations on Peeta's neck. Peeta himself couldn't keep his hands from running all over Cato's strong torso. He had so many muscles, it was almost unfair.

Peeta didn't want to take his own shirt off, which was ridiculous due to the fact that he had been sitting naked in front of Cato only a week ago. "We don't have to do this," Cato had said when he saw Peeta's hesitance.

"I want to though," Peeta insisted. "I'm just not . . . like you here." He ran his palm down Cato chest and stomach, giggling a little when the older boy sucked in a little at the feeling.

"I can't believe that's what you're worried about," Cato chuckled. "You know there is a reason I couldn't keep my eyes off you last week."

"There was?"

"Absolutely."

Suddenly enpowered, Peeta threw his shirt off. He flushed a little in embarrassment at his eagerness but Cato made him feel better by tugging him closer and exploring his bare skin with his hands. They started kissing again, hands running freely over each other's naked torsos. Cato squeezed Peeta's ass, the action causing the young wolf to yelp.

"Did I go too far?!" Cato exclaimed, letting go as if he had done something horrifying.

"No, you suqeezed my tail," Peeta replied. He pulled the back of his jeans outwards to release his fluffy tail.

"Was that there the whole time?" Cato asked in astonishment.

Peeta shook his head. "No, I just wasn't concentrating on keeping it in." He ruffled his hair, exposing his ears as well. "I think wolves half shift when being intimate with someone. I'm not really sure, I've never done it before."

Cato smiled, stroking Peeta's ears the way he knew he liked. Peeta closed his eyes and nestled his head closer. "Sorry," Cato apologized. He reached out and stroked his tail, from base to tip. Peeta embarrassed himself by moaning, that tiny part of Omega in him spreading his legs to let a partner in.

"Did I just find a sensitive spot?" Cato teased.

"Shut up, it's my tail, of course it's sensitive," Peeta muttered peevishly, cheeks flaming like a fire.

Cato laughed and kissed him again. Peeta sighed into his mouth and laid back on the bed, bringing Cato over ontop of him. They wormed out of the rest of their clothes, all of it happening in a jumble of kisses and caresses. It was strange, everything happened so smoothly, without hesitance or pause. Like it was an envitable occurance.

"Are you sure about this?" Cato asked, pressing careful kisses around Peeta's face.

"Yes," Peeta answered. Despite everything that had happened, everything that was still to go on, this felt like the most right thing that had happened to him in years.

Cato pushed into him gently, taking great care and stopping every now and then to make sure he was comfortable. Peeta whined, in pain mixed with pleasure, and actually felt the urge to howl like he would when it was a full moon outside. Cato grunted as he started to thrust, unable to control his voice as it expressed it's pleasure.

When Peeta reached the point of no return, he was unable to help himself and howled like the wolf he was. His climax made him clench around Cato, causing him to find his own finish as well. Both then just lay together in bed, their bodies covered by the quilt.

"That was amazing," Peeta whispered.

"I know," Cato agreed. He stroked Peeta's head, scratching the sensitive area behind his ears just to watch him whine and squirm a little bit. "And everything's going to be alright. I'm going to look after you."

Peeta didn't have to think twice to know that Cato was telling the truth.

**A/N: *dusts hands* Well, that's the last one-shot done! I'm going to work on some ongoing new stories now over the rest of the summer. Thank you to everyone who submitted and those who read and reviewed! It's greatly appreciated! :D**

**Please R&R! (:**


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